It all started one day in the late 1980's

[Alohawyatt]

Late 1980's 1.6
Static line (SL) progression​

It took us a few weekends to pay off Richard. Looking back on it now, I believe that I learned more those few weeks by not jumping than I would have otherwise. We got to hear all about other jumpers experiences. I even ended up in a search for one. The student had made a similar mistake as I.
Now we were ready to make our second jump. The cost was $25. It included the gear rental and lift ticket. The jump was to be the same as the first but without the ground schooling. Lisa was our jump-master (JM) again, and this time all went well.
The static line (SL) progression method went as follows. The first two jumps are with the (SL), and working on keeping back arched and head back. Basically, you are bending over backward. But keeping your arms and legs apart in a way that forms an X shape.
The best way that I can describe this is to think of a badminton birdie. The birdie has a weight and feathers coming off it like an upside-down cone shape. No matter what, when the birdie goes threw the air, its weight goes first. Now think of your body as the weight and your arms and legs as the feathers. As you are going threw the air, your belly will go first.
The next two jumps are with a dummy ripcord. A ripcord is simply a cable with a handle on one end. Our ripcord was about a foot and a half long. When you pull a real ripcord, it releases a spring that's in a small round parachute called a pilot chute. Our dummies were mounted in the correct place but were not holding the pilot chutes spring down. That was the (SLs) job. The idea was to be able to practice pulling the ripcord but not breaking the X body position more than was necessary.
The fifth jump was without the (SL). We referred to it as the first live one. After the first live one, that same jump is called a hop and pop. My first live one was one of the most adrenaline-filled jumps to date.
The (JM) thought I was one of the funniest. As I was climbing out of the plane. The (JM) told me not to forget to pull the ripcord. I remember thinking. Do people forget that? It was all I could think about. I don't see how I could forget.
When I let go, my arch was good. But as soon as I went for the pull, my legs started kicking. He said that I was kicking like a chicken.
Fast forward a few years when I was the (JM) for my sister's first jump. Guess what happened. Yep, it must run in the family. She was kicking like a chicken. At least I got to see what it looks like.